Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Malawi

Malawi: Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting was 2.6 in 2020. β–Ό Falling

Latest (2020)
2.6
Change on year
down 31.6%
World rank
71st
of 99 countries
All-time high
8.9
in 1998
All-time low
1.5
in 2018
Years of data
16
1992–2020

Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Malawi, 1992–2020

24681992200620201992: 6.61995: 8.51998: 8.92000: 6.82002: 6.32004: 6.32006: 4.22009: 1.92010: 42014: 3.82015: 2.82016: 4.12017: 2.62018: 1.52019: 3.82020: 2.6

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Malawi recorded 2.6 for share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in 2020.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 31.6% on the previous year and down 35.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Malawi peaked at 8.9 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 1.5, in 2018.

That places Malawi 71st out of 99 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 8 6.6 8.9 3
2000s 5.1 1.9 6.8 5
2010s 3.23 1.5 4.1 7
2020s 2.6 2.6 2.6 1

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 68 El Salvador 2.9 compare
  2. 69 Algeria 2.7 compare
  3. 69 Mongolia 2.7 compare
  4. 72 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 2.5 compare
  5. 73 Morocco 2.4 compare
  6. 73 Uzbekistan 2.4 compare

See the full ranking of 99 places β†’

More reference data data for Malawi

All data for Malawi β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Malawi?
Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Malawi was 2.6 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 8.9 in 1998.
What is the lowest share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 1.5 in 2018.
How does Malawi rank for share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting?
Malawi ranks 71st out of 99 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 35.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-children-with-a-weight-too-low-for-their-height-wasting/malawi/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of children with a weight too low for their height wasting
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
99 places, 962 data points, 1984–2024
Last refreshed